The fantasy RPG Avowed faces some stiff competition in the genre, but this particular venture from Obsidian Entertainment has found an angle that makes it stand out. With a focus on first-person combat, Avowed s games like The Elder Scrolls and Obsidian's own The Outer Worlds and Fallout: New Vegas in combining decision-making and customization with a direct approach to action. From sword-slashing to spell-casting, Avowed covers all the basics that can be expected of fantasy fighting, but the game also goes a step beyond the typical expectations for fantasy RPG weaponry.
Although Avowed is a new title for Obsidian, the game builds on the legacy of the studio's Pillars of Eternity isometric RPGs. Taking place in the same world of Eora, Avowed has the luxury of drawing from world-building that is already intricate and carefully realized. Eora strikes a balance between fantasy conventions and fresh concepts, speckling a world inhabited by humans, dwarves, elves, and more with magic and mystery both new and old. Technology is another feature that doesn't stick completely to the classics, with some of the most aggressive advancements analogous to the Renaissance era mixing in with the more medieval aspects.
Avowed's Weapons Are Fresh For A Fantasy RPG
Like Pillars of Eternity, Avowed features gunpowder weapons alongside a regular roster of weapons and magical attacks. Although plenty of first-person games feature gunplay, a first-person fantasy RPG leaning into this angle is a significantly more unique position. From Arena to Skyrim, Bethesda's preeminent Elder Scrolls series has never offered firearms to players, a track record that is unlikely to change in The Elder Scrolls 6. Bethesda has plenty of room to play around with ballistic and laser weapons alike in the Fallout series and the space RPG Starfield, but guns can play a different role in a fantasy RPG than in a sci-fi setting.
Other fantasy RPGs appear to shying away from firearms as well. Fable 2 and 3 added guns into the mix of a comically freewheeling franchise, but the Fable from Playground Games appears to be taking things back to medieval basics in an effort to stick to the script of the original game. Dragon's Dogma 2 follows up on a predecessor focused on variety and experimentation in combat but takes the first game's approach of opting for interesting variations on bows instead of guns. These games may be making the right choices for their respective settings, but their shared lack of interest in firearms (and the lack of a Fable or Dragon's Dogma) helps Avowed make its mark.
Guns Will Shift The Tempo Of First-Person Combat In Avowed
Lore isn't the only explanation for other fantasy games avoiding firearms. Balancing magic alongside short- and long-range weapons can be a dizzying task of its own, and adding guns into the mix makes things significantly more complicated. Some individual weapons in RPGs should be stronger than others, but it's better to make each overarching weapon type reasonably even with the rest, as players shouldn't opt for one style of gameplay that they may not necessarily prefer just because it outperforms other possibilities. Thanks to Pillars of Eternity, however, Obsidian has already shown that the studio knows how to balance the attraction of firearms against the strength of more traditional weapons.
Pillars of Eternity follows the model of early historical firearms in making them slow to reload, offsetting firepower against how quickly attacks from other weapons can be deployed. Although Avowed may not implement guns in the exact same way, it's likely that the overall approach will be similar. From a first-person perspective, this could be even more exciting for players who like high-risk, high-reward gameplay. A well-timed and well-placed shot should be able to do serious damage, but a misfire could leave players exposed in a way that a sword and shield wouldn't.
Build Variety Is A Key RPG Element For Avowed
The Avowed trailer shows a player dual-wielding pistols as they face down a hulking enemy, a set-up that implies a wide range of possibilities. Gameplay so far seems to emphasize the possibilities of combining different weapon loadouts. Although deploying a spell from one hand while holding an ax in the other may not be very different from gameplay in Skyrim, the inclusion of one-handed firearms implies that more unique combinations could likely be born. For players wary of fully committing to a gun-toting glass cannon build, these options could be a great balance.
Dual wielding a pistol and sword in Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire isn't the most generally effective combination, but it's a perfect way to get into the spirit of a great pirate video game. The build variety that firearms can contribute to Avowed should be able to foster the role-playing experience in a similar way, as well as letting players who simply crave new experiences switch it up as often as they like. The first-person view of RPGs like Avowed tends to de-emphasize the importance of cosmetic character customization, leaving the choice of weapons as the personalized element that players will end up seeing most often.
There's No Wrong Way To Play Avowed
Adding guns to a fantasy isn't the same as converting a medieval game to a modern FPS, as player freedom remains the focus of the game. Fans who would rather stick to the tried-and-true fantasy classics should be able to comfortably ignore any weapons they'd rather not use, just as Pillars of Eternity players who feel similarly have done. Obsidian has a strong track record of allowing players to tell their own stories, and it's unlikely that the story would force the protagonist into relying on any particular weapon. As the wider presence of firearms in the game makes perfect sense within the development of Eora, it also shouldn't provide any blow to the general sense of immersion.
The true depths of combat in Avowed have yet to be seen, with only brief glimpses of gameplay providing any clue into how its firearms will look and feel. Obsidian games are no stranger to the presence of guns, however, and there's no reason that they shouldn't prove just as satisfying to use as any other angle of attack. Fans anticipating the thrill of taking down fantastical enemies with a well-placed shot can look forward to all of their dreams finally coming to fruition when Avowed releases in 2024.
Source: Xbox/YouTube
